baby

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Dear Holly: Your Room’s Theme, “Rock-a-bye Baby in the Treetop”

23 weeks.

Dear Holly: Your Room’s Theme- Rock-a-bye Baby on the Treetop

Dear Holly,

It was all a complete coincidence.

Many months ago before we even knew we were going to have a baby, Mommy ordered a wall decal of a tree branch with birds, for what at the time was simply our guest room. Your Aunt Dana and I spent some time placing it on the wall and making it look nice.

It was simply a guest room; not even a “hopefully in the near future a baby’s room”.

If anything, it was a “maybe one day, a baby’s room.”

But then we found out about you this past summer.

Instead of painting your bedroom a predictable girly color, we decided to embrace and translate the tree decal into a baby girl’s room.

This past weekend your Nonna and Papa (my parents) came up and helped us prepare our house for your arrival… which is still 4 months away.

After Papa and I put together your crib, we instantly realized it was the same length as the tree decal.

Therefore, your bedroom has the theme of the nursery rhyme, Rock-a-Bye Baby:

Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall and down will come baby

Cradle and all

Instead of painting your room, Mommy had us paint our office, which will now double as the guest room.

Dear Holly: Your Room’s Theme- Rock-a-bye Baby on the Treetop

We also painted the bathroom and Mommy hung up a fun frame that celebrates you and Jack, with it being your shared bathroom.

Again, you’re still 4 months away of actually being born and needed your room.

But hey, we had already bought our Christmas gifts by September and had them wrapped by October; and put our tree up in early November.

So in our household, you can only imagine that having your room ready now isn’t too early at all.

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Holly: The Berenstain Bears’ New Baby

22 weeks.

Dear Holly: The Berenstain Bears’ New Baby

Dear Holly,

This week Mommy got your brother Jack a new book to help him transition into his upcoming “big brother” status: It’s called The Berenstain Bears’ New Baby; where Brother Bear gets a baby sister.

(By the way, you will be born into a family that greatly appreciates the folksy Jewish/Christian cultural perspective of the Berenstain Bears’ book collection.)

It’s important to me that I make sure your brother doesn’t feel left out when you get here. Whereas you’ll always know what it’s like to have a sibling, he will have 5 and a half years’ experience as an only child before that changes for him.

Mommy and I are going to be on the lookout for a special toy for him, upon your arrival; it likely will be a stuffed animal, as that’s the main thing he’s into.

My own parents did the same for me when my sister was born; I got a Garfield stuffed animal.

Similarly, last week Jack got you a doll for when you get here.

You are going to get so much attention from everyone once you arrive. You are our precious little girl.

I just want to make sure I do my best to proactively prevent this from being more difficult than it has to be as he soon will become a big brother.

Fortunately, he’ll be old enough to where I think it will work to his advantage; that he will be eager to use his “helper” skills.

Your personality will be formed, and his may be altered, as the two of you begin interacting; especially in your first couple of years together.

So as your Daddy, I feel responsible for creating the atmosphere and environment void as much as possible of competition, but instead, cooperation.

I think that this new Berentstain Bears book is a good way to help set the pace right.

Love,

Daddy

P.S. Here’s a picture your brother Jack drew of our family so far. Before too long, he’ll be drawing 4 people.

Dear Holly: The Berenstain Bears’ New Baby

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Dear Holly: A Glimpse of the Girl I Think You are Going to Be

21 weeks.

Dear Holly: A Glimpse of the Girl I Think You are Going to Be

Dear Holly,

By turning one of your recent sonogram profiles sideways, I am able to catch a glimpse of what you might look like once you are born. I had done this with your brother Jack, and he turned out looking like what I would expect, sans the sandy colored hair and blue eyes.

I see how you look like Mommy already. Particularly, I see some French and Croatian in there from her genes.

However, Mommy and I do both believe you will have darker traits, unlike your brother Jack.

The “baby gifts” are starting to come in the mail from family members. So therefore, your bedroom is starting to fill up with clothing that will help compliment your assumed personality.

Jack picked out that doll as his gift from him to you.

Mommy and I predict you will be a feminine girl, not a tomboy. However, we don’t see you as a particularly sensitive or dainty little girl either.

Dear Holly: A Glimpse of the Girl I Think You are Going to Be

Speaking of dolls, I saw this bunny doll today at Brilliant Sky and sent the picture to Mommy. We both instantly agreed that this style summarizes our thoughts regarding what you’ll be like:

Dear Holly: A Glimpse of the Girl I Think You are Going to Be

As Mommy worded it yesterday, “Holly won’t be a princess, just like Jack isn’t a prince.”

Not that there’s anything wrong with adopting such romantic and royal concepts, I just suppose it’s not our family’s style or culture.

(It doesn’t help that I loathe the movie Frozen because the whole plot could have been prevented had the parents not been psychos who locked their daughters in their bedrooms. On the other hand, I applaud and celebrate Inside Out for its intelligent plot revolving around a young girl and her developing emotional intelligence.)

We believe that the environment we will raise you in will make you a very independent, yet laid back little girl.

As I imagine Jack bumping into you with his toy cars, I see you laughing about it instead of crying.

Dear Holly: A Glimpse of the Girl I Think You are Going to Be

I picture you naturally wanting to join in whatever weird activity your brother Jack is doing, convincing yourself that soaking Halloween candy in warm saltwater (instead of eating it) is normal.

Sure, you’ll love baby dolls and tutus. But you’ll also have access to Jack’s exhaustive Thomas the Train and Hot Wheels collection.

Plus, I think my personal love for outdoors and adventure will guide you in becoming a fun little girl who is able to keep up with your brother and me.

Granted, you’ll also be exposed to all my quirky musical and video-making antics.

I am so excited to think about the fun little girl you will become.

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Holly: I Don’t Believe that Anybody Feels the Way I Do about You Now

20 weeks.

Dear Holly: I Don’t Believe that Anybody Feels the Way I Do about You Now

Dear Holly,

It has now been a week since we found out you are our baby girl named Holly. Mommy and I have been so truly happy.

Mommy bought you some dresses and other clothes online already and we have been trying to figure out which baby blanket to buy you as well.

Like I mentioned last week, you really have been over 7 years in the making. We have hoped for you for a long time; it’s only now that the timing would be perfect.

Yesterday as I drove home from work, I was listening to what I believe is one of the best musical recordings of all time, released 20 years ago in 1995; Oasis’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

While I was listening to “Wonderwall”, a song that never gets old to me, I thought about you, as certain lines from the song played over the speakers of my Honda Element:

“I don’t believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now…

There are many things that I would like to say to you but I don’t know how…

And after all, you’re my wonderwall”

Perhaps to some people, the term “wonderwall” never really made much sense in that now classic Oasis song.

But to me, it always made sense- and it especially makes sense in regards to how I perceive you:

I write to you as if you are a real, living person, here with me right here and right now.

But the thing is, you are.

There’s simply a technically in that you are still in Mommy’s tummy, where you’ll be until around April 21, 2015.

So until then, you are my wonderwall.

You are this mysterious wall I can’t climb or get over to the other side; yet you are right there in front of me.

While I can’t yet look you in the eyes, you are just as real and familiar as if you are already here with me in the outside world.

You are my daughter. Man, that seems weird to say.

But seriously, how can anybody else in this entire world feel the way I do about you now?

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: 3 Funny Things You Said While Waiting to Find out You’re Having a Sister

5 years.

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Dear Jack,

We made a family affair out of finding out whether we are having a boy or a girl.

The suspense was getting the best of both you and me as we waited a good 25 minutes’ worth of the nurse showing us all the signs of your sibling being a healthy baby before the mltechnician finally revealed to us that you are having a… sister!

Mommy appeared perfectly calm during the wait… it was you and me that had way too much nervous energy.

During those never-ending 20 minutes of suspense leading up to the big reveal, you said 3 things that were just so hilarious to me…

When the technician asked whether you thought you were going to have a brother or sister, you responded:

“Broster.”

Shortly afterwards, the technician showed us the baby’s spine. You looked up at the monitor screen on the wall and excitingly proclaimed,“Oh, that’s the baby’s teeth!”

From then, until we finally got confirmation that it’s definitely a girl inside Mommy’s tummy, you kept asking, “When can I see the baby’s butt?”

I can tell you’re not really able to process yet that you will be able to see baby Holly in April. It’s too big of a concept for you to process right now.

But you celebrated at Whole Foods, to some degree, where we bought you a new stuffed animal for your collection. First you chose a hedgehog, but then after I had always Instagrammed the event…

Jack got to pick out a new animal to celebrate finding out whether he will have a brother or sister... we announce to the world tomorrow!

Jack got to pick out a new animal to celebrate finding out whether he will have a brother or sister… we announce to the world tomorrow!

You changed your mind and got a pink pig instead…

He changed his mind...

He changed his mind…

By the way, Mommy is perhaps the happiest I’ve ever seen her as long as I’ve known her. In her quiet way, I was able to witness just how much it means to her that Holly is on her way.

As for you, I feel a feeling you’ll come around once your sister after gets here.

Love,

Daddy